Register now for 2009 WICC Greatest Bluefish Tourney

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Step right up and get your entry tickets. It is time once again to enter the KIA of Milford 2009 WICC Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth.

The contest is scheduled to run over the weekend of August 29 and 30. As always the top prize for the heaviest bluefish caught inside Long Island Sound during the two-day contest is a cash bonus of $25,000.

And there are a few added attractions for 2009.

New this year will be a specially tagged bluefish worth $50,000 if captured by a registered angler during the contest. Other tagged fish prizes will be announced before the contest begins.

Also new this year will be a $500 prize for the lucky angler who enters the heaviest weight total of three bluefish. And, charter boat captains are eligible to win $500 for the two heaviest fish caught and entered from their boat.

Photographers take note. This year there will be a $500 prize for the best bluefish picture posted on www.bluefishpics.com .

Second prize is $10,000; 3rd - $3,000 while 4th and 5th places win $1,000 apiece. The next 15 places (6th through 20th) are worth $200 each. Additionally, the heaviest non-winning fish at each weigh-in station will be awarded $200.

The cost to register for the tournament is $37. As always, all registrants will be given a free t-shirt. For your convenience, bait and tackle shops on both sides of the Long Island Sound are ready to take your entry.

The following bait and tackle shops are selling entries to the Bluefish contest:

Additionally, there are many bait and tackle shops in New York where you can purchase your entry. You can see a list of those shops by going to www.wicc600.com.

You can also enter by mailing the official Enrollment Application and the Registration Certificate to: WICC Bluefish Tournament: 2 Lafayette Square, Bridgeport, CT 06604.

Send $37 check or money order payable to WICC Bluefish. Entries must be postmarked no later than August 14, 2009. Your registration fee includes a free T-Shirt.

This year's tournament is sponsored by Kia of Milford, Rex Marine Center, St. Vincent's Swim Across the Sound, Duchess Restaurants, Nicolock Noreast.com and American Steakhouse.

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The crew of the boat "Crack Oar" won another shark tournament last week. Captained by Jeff Woerz, the team consisted of Paul Hiller, Troy Hazen and a fellow named Paul. They combined to win the South Norwalk Boat Club Annual Shark Tournament. Their winning fish was a 158-pound mako shark that they caught off Montauk.

It turned out that the competition must have been headed up by King Neptune or perhaps Mother Nature as none of the other competitors caught a shark large enough to make minimum weight to enter.

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Fishing has slowed a bit probably due to the ever changing weather in the Northeast.

Fishing for bluefish is poor right now. Striped bass fishing is holding its own and at least one cow was caught last week. Fluke and porgy fishing is fair to good.

"Holy flounder, Batman!" The catch of the week honors goes to Megan Marano. The seven-year-old angler caught a 30-inch fluke while fishing with her mom, Patty Marano and Dave Pezzello. Megan was using her special weapon to catch the big bass. She was using her Batman rod and reel outfit.

The largest fish of the week was a 44-inch striper caught by Pat O'Meara. Pat was trolling a tube and worm combo off Green's Ledge when the big bass hit.

Gary Feighery fished Stamford Harbor a couple of times last week. On one outing, he returned with a 36-inch striper. On the second, he caught a 42-incher. Both fish were taken using fresh bunker for bait.

Gerry Wedell and Ed Kominski fished in Stamford waters last week. While Ed supervised, Gerry caught a 30-pound and a 15-pound striper. Both linesiders were taken using fresh bunker.

Mike Scorr and his sister, Laurie, fished with their father, Tony, in Stamford waters last week. The siblings each caught a 31-inch striped bass. They were using bunker chunks for bait.

Bob Coburn and his son, Brian, did well while chunking at the Obstruction Buoy. They caught several stripers including one that measured 32-inches in length.

Bill Kovac did very well at the Stamford Cows last week. Using a variety of baits, he boated a 26-inch fluke and a limit of porgies.

Paul McFarland caught a limit of porgies while fishing at the Stamford Cows. His largest scup measured 15-inches and was taken on a clam strip.

Also doing well at the Cows was an angler known only as Fred. He caught a limit of porgies measuring to 18-inches using sandworms. Fred also caught a 36-inch striped bass and his wife caught a 37-inch striper. The stripers were taken on fresh bunker.

Mike Noyes and Enzo Leva fished the Long Island side of the Sound for fluke last week. As in the past they found lots of action but not one keeper was caught.

Also fishing the other side was Hank Weis of Sparky Charters. While fishing at Lloyds, his crew caught lots of short fluke. They also found some good bluefish action on the surface.

On the Connecticut side of the Sound, Carl Snow caught three fluke measuring to 23-inches while bottom fishing at Buoy 26. Then a school of bluefish appeared and he tied on a surface plug and caught several choppers in the 2 to 4-pound range.

This is a good time of the year to fish the Mianus River system. Just ask six-year-old Jichnu Basu. His parents took Jichnu fishing for the first time in his life last week and the youngster did well catching a nice yellow perch and a turtle. He was using nightcrawlers for bait.

We haven't heard from Mason Targonski in a while. But when he pops up, it's always with a good catch. Last week he fished the New York City Diverting Reservoir and caught a nice 21.5-pound carp.

Martin Armstrong is a member of the Fisheries Advisory Council, a lifetime member in Trout Unlimited and a member of the Outdoors Writers Association.